Ladybug in a Web
Horizon and sun just met when Marinette arrived in Port Lunimar. Excitement, or maybe nerves, had her torpedo the leagues to shore in record time.
Chloe's ship was easy to spot, belayed at the Royal Docks. Excellent. The only other place a ship of her size could make port was the Merchant's Harbor, and it was always monitored. The Royal Docks were private. Fewer worked there, and that meant fewer eyes to spy her crawling aboard the ship— if it came to that.
From the shallows, Marinette admired the castle atop the cliff. There was something romantic about the black walls of the human palace. Most intriguing was the tallest spire, which emitted a strange, bright light. It could be seen on the foggiest days, and on clear nights it shone like a second moon in the sky. What about that light made it burn brighter than fire?
The palace's windows glowed orange in the dusk. As the night drew nearer, lanterns lit in a zigzag pattern up the cliff, following the winding staircase to the harbor.
When the sun disappeared over the horizon, Marinette braved the dock. She emerged from under the wooden walkways. The tide was rising, and there was barely enough room for her head. Footsteps tromped above her, carting trunks of items from the galleon to the cliffs. Marinette resigned herself to a long wait, until she heard a familiar voice.
"Ruined. Ruined! I have nothing to wear!"
Chloe was still aboard the ship. Marinette navigated the harbor's underside until she was at the ship's aft.
"None of these are ruined, sweetheart," her father cooed, "and even if they were, you have so many other dresses."
"Not ruined?!"
Marinette angled herself to spy through a slat. She could just make out the forms of Chloe and her father silhouetted in the golden light of the captain's quarters.
Chloe raised something bright red, accentuated with dark spots, and she shoved it in her father's face. "What do you call that then?!"
"What? This? Didn't you just spill some drinking water on it a few days ago?"
"Because the boat jumped!" Chloe shouted defensively. "And yes! And it's still stained!"
"I'm sure we can find someone to get the stain out…"
"No you can't! It's silk taffeta, Daddy! Water stains it forever. It's trash now! I might as well throw it overboard!"
Marinette braced herself against a dock support as her tail thrashed eagerly beneath the water. Yes. Yes! Throw it overboard! This trip was working out better than she'd hoped.
Chloe moved to toss the dress out the window, but her father stayed her hand.
"Let her go!" Marinette hissed. Her desperation surprised her. She submerged her jaw, in case she accidentally spoke up again.
"Chloe, you begged me for that dress before we left. The stain is barely there. You can wear it again! No one will notice."
"I'll notice." She ripped her fist out of her father's grasp and hurled the gown out the window.
Marinette was ready. She'd dive beneath the dress wherever it landed. Even on top of a workman's foot, as long as any bit of the gown touched the water, she'd drag it to the depths. Marinette scoured the surface for a disturbance. The water was still.
She popped back out under the docks and searched for the gown. Had it landed on the walkways?
Red fluttered in her periphery. The dress had caught the wind. A powerful bluster blew the gown around the stern and onto the ship's starboard. There, it hooked onto a cleat on the berm. A confused dock worker observed the dress flapping in the wind before resuming his work.
Marinette grimaced. Well, she knew she might have to scale the ship anyway.
"And this can go too!" Chloe announced. Something small and thin spun out of the ship window. It splashed into the water.
Marinette dove for it like a shark after chum. She didn't know what the discarded item was, but she wanted it. She snatched it under the docks.
It was a red mask with black polkadots. Instinctively, she applied it to her face. It hit the water, it was hers now.
Chloe and her father bickered a while longer before finally departing. Chloe had changed into a resplendent gown of yellow and gold. She held the skirt up to keep the sparkling train clean. It was stunning.
Marinette withheld her envy. She'd have her own beautiful gown before the night was out. No matter what. If only these dock workers would clear away from the starboard for a couple of minutes.
By the time the harbor staff retired up the stairs, the evening stars became bright. The Royal Harbor was never completely abandoned, especially not with a guest nation's ship moored. Two guards kept watch by the stairway. From there they would spot any boat sailing into the private cove or catch anyone descending the stone stairway.
They wouldn't notice Marinette emerging from the water and securing a hold onto the netting of Chloe's ship. They didn't notice her climb towards the deck.
Marinette had underestimated how difficult hauling herself up would be with upper body strength alone. Why did everything have to be ten times heavier outside of the water? Marinette persevered. She could nearly touch to the red silk of the ballgown's skirt.
Her hands blistered and her arms shook, but she made a grab for the dress. It was hooked on tight to the cleat. She let go. She wouldn't tear her prize.
She needed to go all the way on deck. That was fine. It would be more convenient to drop the earring somewhere only Chloe would find it, like the captain's quarters.
With a muffled grunt she heaved her weight over the side of the ship. Her tail slapped against the deck with a thump. She cursed. Had the guards heard?
She held her breath and listened for oncoming footsteps across the wooden path.
Silence. She hadn't been noticed.
Marinette stretched out her sore arms and helped herself to the dress now within her reach, safely unhooking it.
She laid it on the deck. It was all red, the bodice a bit darker than the skirt. The upper half of the gown was speckled with black dots, same as the mask she saved. They must have been made for each other. Frilly lace peaked out of the skirt's hem. Marinette had never touched lace before.
Reverently, she rubbed the material between her fingers. It was finer than she thought it would be. It looked so textured hanging from ladies' elbows on the Merchant Docks. Her hands drifted up to the skirt.
"Silk taffeta," she whispered. That's what Chloe had called it. It was crisp, yet soft. Marinette loved how it gleamed in the starlight. The spotted bodice and swag were made of a similar, but heavier material. It didn't wrinkle like the silk taffeta, and was smoother than glass.
Would the dress feel this good after she dragged it under water?
Marinette wanted to put it on. Right now. Right here, on the deck. She might never get a chance to wear a dry gown again, the way it was meant to be worn.
She slipped off her ship sail dress. If the guards did come to check, getting off the ship was bound to be easier than getting on. Escape was a jump away.
-o-o-o-
"A full month ago," Adrien's father said with disgust as he locked letters away in his filing cabinet. The portrait of Adrien's mother hung over him, watching.
King Gabriel's office was as neat and stylishly decorated as he was. The wood furniture was polished to a shine, and the books on his shelves stayed upright, keeping even lines like soldiers standing at attention. Dust dare not gather on any surface in the king's study.
Gabriel sunk down into the chair behind his desk. To his back, a massive window overlooking the bay. On clear nights, Adrien could see the street lamps burning all the way from Turtle Point, the last town touching the bay before the waters gave way to open ocean.
Adrien loved the view, but was too preoccupied by his father's agitation to enjoy it.
"What good is news from a month ago to me?" Gabriel shuffled through the papers on his desk. "It was weeks before the storm even formed. They'll have an entirely new set of worries by now. News by land is far too slow."
Adrien had asked about the runner's news when he came in, but he'd only wanted to start the conversation on something mundane before asking his father's permission to learn sailing. Now, he'd set him off on a rant.
Was this a bad time? Only one way to find out.
"Sea travel does seem to be the most efficient means of travel, nowadays," Adrien put forth, carefully.
Without looking up from his papers, his father made a noise of ascent.
Adrien wasn't going to get anywhere by being subtle.
"Father, there was something I've been meaning to ask you." Adrien's insides flopped as he steeled himself.
"Oh? And what would that be?" His father's eyes stayed glued to the documents on his desk. When Adrien was hesitant to reply, he prompted, "Go on, I'm listening." He picked up his quill and began writing something down.
"I was hoping… that I might…" Adrien's hands fidgeted behind his back, pulling and twisting each other, readying himself for rejection, "take up sailing?"
His father halted like a broken clock, the quill leaking an ugly blotch on his half written letter. He looked at Adrien from over the rims of his glasses, "What did you just ask me?"
"I'd like to learn how to sail," he repeated, with less stammering this time.
Gabriel's voice had all the passion of a small, still, blue flame. "Adrien, can you possibly begin to fathom why a tiny boat out in the middle of the ocean is the last place I would like you to be?"
He could. Adrien knew his father's reservations about sailboats.
"Yes Father, but I'm only asking to…"
He interrupted him with a chuckle, but it lacked mirth. It grew into the kind of incredulous laugh that led to yelling. "Are you about to argue with me? About sailing?" Gabriel slammed his pen down on his desk and pointed out the window. "The damn ocean killed your mother!"
There it was.
Memories of his mother still brought tears to Adrien's eyes, ten years later. She sailed all the time. Sometimes she'd be gone for weeks on her little sailboat as she explored the sea alone. One time, when he was nine, Adrien's mother left for one such adventure and never came back.
Gabriel shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, fire giving way to cold sadness. The barb he threw at Adrien seemed to have stung him as well. "Why would you ever want to learn to sail?"
Adrien searched for the words that might help him explain to his father what sailing meant to him. Two years after his mother vanished, Adrien's father had at last given her up for dead. He rid the castle of all her things. Adrien wanted to save some of her belongings as mementos, but his father ignored his wishes. He burnt her remaining sailboats and sent them out to sink in the bay. The sole reminder she was ever a part of their lives was the portrait he kept in his study.
And Adrien, of course. Adrien was a constant reminder that Queen Emilie lived.
He did his best to explain, "Mom loved the sea. I just thought I'd feel closer to her if I…"
His father shot up from his chair. "That's ridiculous." He swooped over to the filing cabinet and rested his hands against it, refusing to face Adrien. "My answer is no."
Adrien was ready to fight for this, to plead his case, but a knock on the door cut him off.
Nathalie let herself in. "Your Majesty… Your Highness," she added glancing at Adrien. "Dinner with the Regent will be served shortly."
"Good. Dismissed." At the king's words, Nathalie vanished. Adrien stayed rooted in place as his father returned his quill to its stand and walked past him to leave. Over his shoulder, he said, "Hold off coming to dinner. You're emotional. Take a walk."
Gabriel headed down the hallway to the dining room and Adrien went the opposite direction.
He strode with purpose down the stairs, avoiding eye contact with anyone who passed. His father gave him leave to take a walk, so he was going to take a walk. He had just the place in mind.
Adrien opened the heavy, oaken door that led to the cliff staircase. He wanted to leave the whole gloomy castle entirely, but knew he wouldn't be let out past the gates. He'd be allowed at the docks though, and it was sparsely staffed enough that he wouldn't be bothered. He'd be near the ocean too, the smallest of rebellions.
He grabbed a lantern from the top of the stairs and made his way down the rocky, uneven steps.
The guards at the base weren't surprised to see him. This wasn't the first time he'd come down to the harbor at night. He liked to watch the moon's reflection ripple across the water, listen to the waves crash against the rocks, and dream of taking a boat of his own out beyond the horizon.
Adrien nodded to their salute and stepped onto the creaking wood of the Royal Harbor.
-o-o-o-
Marinette stared at her reflection in the water below the port bow. She didn't recognize herself. The mask she rescued fit so comfortably against her face she'd forgotten it was there when she donned the ballgown.
The neckline of the spotted bodice was low, but it covered the entirety of her breasts. The sleeves were thick bands of fabric that hung purposely off her arms, exposing her neck, shoulders and clavicle. The scarlet gown exploded out from her waist and fell so low that only the tips of her fin peaked out from under the skirts.
She looked almost human from up here.
She pulled away. It was growing late. Tikki was waiting for her. She needed to return the earring and jump overboard.
Resigned, she pushed herself off the railing and landed hard against the deck.
"Who's there?"
Marinette's blood turned to ice. Someone heard her.
She crawled starboard where her sail dress and Chloe's sapphire earring lay. She clutched the items to her chest and leaned up against the edge of the ship.
Across the deck, a hovering aura of candlelight bobbed slowly along the port side berm. She could escape.
Marinette twisted and tossed her belongings over starboard. She let her hands travel the length of her dress one last time, and appreciated how light, dry and warm it was, before taking hold of the railing and pulling herself up.
The top half of her body was over water when her right hand lost its grip. She didn't dive soundlessly into the water below. Instead her shoulder slammed against the hull and she tumbled into the decorative gold netting she'd used to climb aboard. Entangled, her tail stuck up awkwardly and her head pointed sternward as she swung to and fro.
"Hello?"
Marinette was in trouble. She writhed against the netting. The ropes would not free her. If anything, the more she struggled the tighter it got.
A hand attached to a glass lantern appeared from the starboard stern. Marinette stopped. She opted to stay very still. If she were still enough, would he overlook her?
-o-o-o-
Adrien was sure he'd heard something coming from the Regent's galleon. It was meant to be empty.
The guards by the staircase gave him questioning looks as he walked back around the ship, but he waved them off. The sound was probably a seal on the opposite dock or maybe a pelican. He turned down the walkway on the starboard side of the ship. He saw nothing. At first.
He tread cautiously to the end of the dock. It was high tide under a new moon. The cove was an effective breakwater against the waves, but water could still slosh over onto the wood and make it slippery.
Adrien expected to see a mischievous harbor seal disappearing into the dark waters of the bay. Instead, an amorphous lump protruding from the side of the ship caught his eye.
He raised his lantern. It was bright red and black and tangled in some of the garish decoration adorning the regent's galleon. It stared back at him with big blue eyes.
Oh my god, it was a girl.
"What on earth?" Adrien gasped. "Are you alright?"
Instead of answering, she thrashed against the hull of the ship. Her hands clawed at the ropes as she tried to free herself.
"Be careful! You'll fall into the water if you go on like that," he warned. She was close enough to the dock to reach. He put his lantern down and offered, "I can help you. Give me one second and I'll get you… down…"
He saw it. Pink scales glittered in the dim light of his lantern, out from the bottom of the young lady's dress. The tips of her fin were bright red, like a blush.
Shock consumed him. "I don't believe it," he whispered. She was a mermaid.
Her blue eyes went wider and she pushed off from the boat with such force that she swung out before ramming back into the hull. She was stuck. A ladybug in a web.
"Whoa, hold on, you'll hurt yourself!" Adrien reached for the ropes by her shoulders, but she reared back like a frightened animal. He only wanted to help!
"Your Highness, is there something the matter?"
One of the guards stood at the end of the dock. His hand was on the sword at his hip, but he did not approach. Could he not see the mermaid at that distance?
A hand caught his. It was the mermaid. Her eyes were clear and piercing. Her hand trembled as she pled, "Please, don't."
She was afraid of being seen.
"No! Nothing," Adrien called back to the guard. "You may return to your post."
"Yes, My Prince."
They were alone again. Adrien and the mermaid. She let go of his hand and Adrien reached for the ropes. The mermaid shied away from him.
"I won't hurt you," he whispered. "If you stay still, I can get you down. Can you do that?"
Hesitantly, she nodded. Adrien could see where she had gotten stuck. He gave her instructions to pull in her arms and Adrien tugged the netting in such a way that she tumbled out of it.
The fall surprised her. She gasped and her arms flung outward as she spun into the water. She got a hand on the stock around Adrien's neck and pulled it clean off of him. If it wasn't so loosely tied he might have been dragged down into the water as well. He narrowly avoided the worst of the resulting splash.
Adrien inspected the galleon. The netting was warped and would probably never look the same way again. But the mermaid was free.
"There, are you alright?" he asked the black, empty water.
She was gone.
Adrien sunk into a crouch on the edge of the dock. A mermaid. Incredible. His mother told him about them when he was a kid. He'd never imagined that they were real, much less that he'd meet one. Kind of.
She was beautiful.
Admittedly, she didn't dress the way he'd imagined mermaids would.
There was a swish of movement in the inky water. The mermaid's head bobbed above the surface. Curious eyes peered out at him from behind the mask.
"You came back." He moved to stand, and she backed up, distrustful. He slowly lowered himself to the planking of the dock, and she drew closer. Pale arms glowed under the surface of the water. Her ruby dress bubbled up behind her as she propelled herself forward. She stopped, out of arms reach.
"Thank you," she said, "for saving me."
"You're welcome." He tried to keep his voice quiet and calm. He didn't want to scare her away. He was keen to talk with her. "I didn't know mermaids were real."
She treaded the water, her eyes narrowed, examining him. He had so many questions. Where did she live? How did she get stuck in the netting on the regent's boat? What was with the mask?
Wait a second.
"Is that one of Chloe's dresses?" he guessed.
The mermaid hugged herself, as if he might demand she return the gown that instant.
"I didn't steal it!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "She said it was trash! It was stained and she tried to throw it overboard."
Adrien wasn't trying to accuse her of anything. He threw his hands up in peace. "Hey, I believe you. That sounds exactly like something Chloe would do."
The mermaid looked between him and the regent's galleon.
"Do you know the young lady from the ship?" she asked.
"Do you mean Chloe? Yes, she's my friend."
The mermaid bit her lip. She closed the distance between them.
"The reason I came here was to return this to her." Her milky hand emerged from the water, dripping, her fist closed. "Here, you can have it."
Cautiously, Adrien extended his palm. Her soft fingers brushed his as she placed the object in his hand. He brought the object closer to the light of the lantern. It was an earring of silver and sapphire.
"Is this the earring she lost on the way here?"
The mermaid drew her hand to her chest. "I saw it fall. It seemed important to her." She ducked her head. Her cheeks tinted a charming pink as she coyly brought up another object from the water. "Um, you should take this, too. I didn't mean to tear it off you. Sorry."
She gave him back his green neck stock, sopping wet. Adrien set it across the dock planks.
"Is it ruined?" she asked, fixated on the stock. "I think I ripped it."
She had. But the stock didn't mean much to Adrien, apart from it being his favorite color.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll see Chloe gets her earring back. But how will I explain—?"
"You can say it washed up on the beach," the mermaid supplied eagerly, "or that it never really sank at all, but got caught along the stern. Just please don't mention me."
Did she really go to so much trouble to return the trinket of a stranger?
"You're amazing," he told her. He wanted to know more about her. He brought himself up to a crouch and offered his hand. "What's your name? Mine's Adrien."
The mermaid looked at his hand, but didn't take it. Maybe mermaids didn't shake hands? That would be a question for later.
"Prince… Adrien?"
"That's right." Adrien lowered his arm. She must have picked up his title when the guard checked on him.
"So you must live up there. Beneath the light?" She pointed to the Black Palace's lighthouse, voice full of wonder. Her smile was dazzling, but mention of the palace dampened Adrien's mood.
He sucked in a breath of air. "Yep. I do."
"Tell me: why does the light shine so brightly?" Her hands clasped the dock.
"You mean the lighthouse beacon? I'm not really sure," he said truthfully, feeling bad for not being able to answer her question fully. "Mirrors and lenses, I think."
The mermaid rested her chin on her folded arms. She muttered some of his words to herself, her pink lips pursed in contemplation. The red tips of her fins breeched the water behind her in slow, fluid strokes.
It was so surreal. Adrien was having a conversation with a mermaid. If he told someone, there was no way they would believe him. Maybe not even Nino.
"Prince Adrien, do humans keep promises?" the mermaid asked.
Adrien was startled by the sudden question, "What?" He gathered his wits and answered, "Yes, of course. Well, at least I keep my promises."
"Good, will you promise me something then?" she beamed up at him.
"Yes. What is it?" he spoke impulsively. He was strangely prepared to do anything she asked.
"Please promise to never speak about me to anyone. Anyone at all." She looked out to the ocean, her voice sad. "I'm not supposed to be here and we're not allowed to be seen by humans, much less talk to them."
"There are more of you? Out there in the bay?" he asked, following her gaze.
She pulled his hand into hers. Her deep blue eyes poured into him. "Please promise me, Adrien."
This meant a lot to her. There was no harm in keeping their meeting to himself. The thought of sharing a secret between himself and the mermaid in the ladybug dress delighted him, in fact. He nodded and said, "I promise. I won't tell anyone, Ladybug."
She sighed happily and let go of his hands, leaving them cold. She tilted her head, a curious smile back on her face. "Ladybug? What's that?"
"They're a pretty little flying beetle, an insect," he explained. "They're red with black spots, like your dress. It's said they're lucky."
She repeated the word and fell gracefully back into the harbor waters, grinning. "I like that," Ladybug said.
Adrien stood. He'd been out here longer than he intended. "It's getting late. They'll be missing me," he said. "But I want to see you again."
Ladybug's grin evaporated. "We can't." Her words left little room for argument.
"Oh…"
"But do you sail?" she asked.
Now he felt worse. "No, I don't," he said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"I can't risk coming to shore very often. I could get in a lot of trouble if I was caught talking to you. But if you sailed around the bay, I might see you from time to time from the water. I love to watch the sailors."
"So you would see me, but I wouldn't see you." Even if he could sail, Adrien wouldn't have liked that plan.
"Yes. For safety," she said gravely.
"My Prince, you are wanted!" a guard called for him, waving his lantern to draw Adrien back to the stairs.
"I'm coming! One moment…"
When Adrien turned back to say goodbye to Ladybug, she was gone. Dark shallow waves lapped against the supports of the dock.
He picked up his lantern and wet stock and headed up the staircase for a late dinner.